The prior art is well documented with examples of barge cover assemblies. An objective of known cover assemblies is to protect items carried within a cavity defined body of a transport barge supported upon a body of water.
An objective of such barge covers is to enable them to be more easily lifted off from the an open perimeter defining location established by the barge. One example of a such a hopper barge cover is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,237,809, issued to Hickmann, and which includes a plurality of linearly telescoping cover portions (housings), terminating in a central most and highest housing (i.e., both ends displace progressively inwards to a central location). The central housing exhibits a transverse plate extending across it at the center of its length. The outermost housing is driven at each end separately with the other housings having cooperating elements to engage each other to cause the housings on each side of the transverse plate of the central housing to sequentially move in or out with respect to the central housing. All of the housings have glides or wheels on each side for riding on flat surfaces supported on opposing sides of the barge.
Geisel, U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,799, teaches a portable barge cover incorporating a removable and storable covering system including several overlapping flexible sheets places over spaced apart arched members and which span from one side of a hold to the opposite side. The flexible sheets are secured by several straps that cross over the flexible sheets trapping the sheet between the strap and the arched member.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,016,761, 6,138,597 and 6,161,493, to Berg, Sr., each disclose a lift-off cover assembly for barges which includes adjacently positioned and curved cover sections and end cover sections located at opposite ends of the adjacently positioned curved cover sections. The cover assembly includes a central walkway which extends between openings on the cover assembly and climbing stairs which are positioned so as to facilitate the travel of a cargo loading operated towards the openings. Each of the openings further includes cover members, such as lids or doors, which have handles or latches that are accessible from the central walkway.
Finally, additional U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,352,046 and 6,443,084, also to Berg, Sr., each disclose a variation of a telescoping and rolling cover assembly for a barge and which includes a plurality of cover sections, such as constructed of fiber reinforced plastic, and which travel along a track or tracks provided upon an associated barge coaming. The cover sections are provided with anti-derailment tracks that engage a vertical lip of the barge coaming to prevent the covers from being pulled off the track. The clamps are further provided with wind latch extensions to secure the cover sections in a stacked position. The cover sections may be provided with a stacking shelf that provides a surface on which an overlying stacked cover may rest, and may further travel along one or more tracks provided on the sides of the barge coaming. A portion of some cover sections may travel along tracks attached to underlying cover sections.